From an original field of over 1,100 writers and after four intense
challenges,
Lisa Fox (Washington Township, NJ, USA)
took home first place in the Short Screenplay Challenge 2018. In
each round of the competition, Lisa was challenged to write a short
screenplay no longer than 5 pages based on a genre, location, and object
assignment in just 48 hours. Read the screenplays from each of her
four challenges below along with an interview about her experience in
the competition.

"Civic Duty" by Lisa Fox (Challenge #4)LOGLINE: According to the
government, Jack is better off dead. Can responsible citizenship
help him live on?

ASSIGNMENT: Open / Headquarters / A multi-tool

LENGTH: 5 pages

Congratulations on winning the 10th
annual Short Screenplay Challenge! How long have you been writing
screenplays and how did you first get started?

Thank you! It’s all still very surreal.

My first screenplay was written for the NYCM
Screenplay Challenge in 2017, so I’m still fairly new to screenwriting.
I entered to challenge myself to try a new form outside of prose, and to
discipline myself to be more concise and write better dialogue.
From that first competition, I was hooked! I find that I enjoy writing
screenplays as much as I enjoy prose.

Throughout the competition, you were challenged
to create short screenplays no longer than 5 pages that included genre,
location, and object assignments, all within 48 hours. What was
the most challenging aspect of the competition for you? What was
the most enjoyable aspect?

There’s that
fear of the blank page, the butterflies leading up to prompt drop at
midnight, that question of “will I
actually be able to do this?” The
biggest challenge, always, is coming up with a unique idea that speaks
to the reader. Creating characters who jump off the page, who make you
laugh, cry, or think about the world differently and are memorable long
after the story is read. Not easy in a five-page screenplay format. Not
easy in 48 hours. But I love the madness of it all, the adrenaline rush
that comes with these competitions, and the satisfaction of knowing that
there’s something new out there in the world that didn’t exist, even in
my head, two days earlier.

Writing a short screenplay is a bit like
playing Tetris. You start with all these colorful, multi-shaped building
blocks and you need to deftly squeeze them into a very small space. It’s
a unique experience.

Through the first three challenges you were
assigned the Crime Caper, Drama, and Romantic Comedy genres for your
screenplays. In the finals, you were assigned the Open genre and
chose to write Science Fiction. Which was your favorite genre to
write during the competition and which was the most challenging?

It’s funny. Every time I do one of the NYCM
competitions, my husband usually stays up with me until midnight to see
what prompts I’m assigned. And this time, with Crime Caper in the first
challenge, I turned to him and said, “Oh well. This one’s gonna be over
before it starts.” I’m NOT a crime-capery kind of writer. After I got through my
pity-party, I decided I wasn’t going to stress over it. I was just going
to have fun and (try to) enjoy doing something different. And you know
what, I did
have fun writing a completely goofball, “not me” kind of piece.

The next
assignment was Drama – a genre I’d always hoped to get. The biggest
obstacle that round was time. I had tickets for Harry Potter And The Cursed Child
on Broadway – Parts 1 and 2 – so I was out of the house from about 10am
until after midnight on my primary writing day. Fortunately, I quickly
landed on an idea I was happy with and I didn’t struggle too much with
the execution.

Then there
was Romantic Comedy. Like Crime Caper, I’d never written a Romantic
Comedy. I laughed (then I cried!) when the assignment came through.
“That was fun while it lasted!” I said to my husband. I enjoy watching
romantic comedies, but writing them? Really not in my wheelhouse. The
object was “carrot” and after exhausting every bad “carrot” pun I could
come up with, I decided that maybe structuring the script around a pun
wouldn’t be such a terrible thing. I wrote my final scene first (I cried
again!) and filled in the rest of the story from there.

And then the finals, the dreaded Open Genre. I
find I do better when I have definitive fences so came into it with a
strategy on how to attack my genre – I’d simply assign one to myself. I
love writing SciFi so that was my first go-to: I’d see if the prompts
spoke to me in a SciFi setting, and if not, I’d move on to another genre
I enjoy writing, and so on. And I had an idea that just clicked, so I
ran with it.

In the past few years, I’ve really come to
embrace the concept of “write what you know” – I find that my best work
brings in aspects of my own life – whether it’s people I’ve met, things
I’ve done and seen, my fears and worries, even elements of my day job (I
work in pharmaceutical/healthcare market research). So if you’re writing
about some crazy dystopian world, or the consequences of a terrifying
piece of technology, it can still feel real. Relatable. And then you
just need that great big “what if” that gets it all started. Of the four
scripts I wrote for the 2018 Short Screenplay competition, my final
round script is the best representation of me as a writer.

What was your typical process during each
challenge, from receiving the assignment to uploading the finished
screenplay?

The process is
always the same. Agonize until the prompts hit at 11:59 pm. Commiserate
with my husband and my writing friends on the assignment. Start
brainstorming. See what connections I can make across the prompts.
Google. Scribble down whatever comes to mind – even if it’s completely
ridiculous - and try to land on some semblance of an idea. Sleep on it.
Do dishes in the morning if I’m stumped. Force myself to start writing
something, even if it’s terrible. Have a draft done by mid-afternoon and
send to my first few trusted “alpha” readers, who will let me know
what’s working and not. Then it’s back to the drawing board for the
first round of edits. Back out to betas at this point, more edits.
Rinse, repeat. I’ll usually read it to my husband when I’m getting to a
good place. Invariably we’ll get into an argument when he starts asking
questions – but 99.9% of the time his questions are good. I’d say a
third of my time is spent brainstorming and writing, and the balance is
editing and finessing. Which is why I always commit to an idea early. I
usually upload no later than 9pm on submission night. And then I
collapse.

You’ve participated in several NYC Midnight
competitions in addition to the Short Screenplay Challenge 2018.
What is the most rewarding aspect of the challenges for you and why?
What advice would you give someone participating in the challenge for
the first time?

I know I’m going to sound like some hokey
infomercial, but NYCM changed my life. A few days before the Flash
Fiction contest in 2016, I saw an ad on Facebook and thought, why not? I
hadn’t written anything creatively in almost 20 years and really missed
it. I dove in head-first, wrote an Action-Adventure piece in 48 hours,
and signed up for the forums, where I have met the most amazing people –
many who have become personal friends. People I talk to every day.
People who walk with me on this same crazy writing journey, who are
cheering by my side with each success, and picking me up with each fall.
My trusted beta readers. My writing “tribe.” In addition to providing a
commitment and a challenge to write creatively, multiple weekends per
year, the NYCM competitions have opened my world up to writers I never
would have met. The competition has pushed me to pursue a childhood
dream I’d long since abandoned. And I’m forever grateful.

For anyone
considering the NYCM challenges, my advice would be to just do it. Don’t
hesitate. And don’t give up. Even if you end up with a genre that’s
outside your comfort zone. Even if your scoring is not what you’d hoped
it would be. Participate in the forums. The advice you get from other
writers is a goldmine. Keep writing. Keep working to improve. And
remember to have fun. This is
supposed to be fun.

Do you have any plans for your screenplays or
any other interesting projects coming up?

I’m usually always working on something,
whether it’s sketching out new ideas, revising and updating pieces I’ve
written, researching markets, or playing the submission/rejection game!
In the past few years I’ve been writing creatively, I’ve focused
exclusively on short pieces – baby steps. I do have plans for bigger
projects (like the novel and full-length feature I’ve always wanted to
write!) – it’s just a matter of finding the time and the courage to
pursue them.

Will you be back to defend your title in the
Short Screenplay Challenge 2019?

I don’t view it as defending a title. I play
for the love of the game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. And
that’s okay. For me, the greatest victory comes in creating something
out of nothing, and in learning and improving with each piece I write.

So yes, I will absolutely be back. And, as
always, I look forward to “rising to the challenge.”